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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spell — letters
  9. hand — help
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. race — a contest
  13. dip — to sink
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — humankind
  16. club — for golf
  17. wax — to grow
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spell — magic
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. snap — to snap out of it

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com